The Other Anchor
by EatingFriedChicken
Summary: "'He is your anchor,' did Hetty Lange not say that?" she asked knowingly. "Who are you?" He demanded, raising his gun point blank. The girl just cackled and grinned menacingly, "I am your only other anchor." OC, Kensi/Deeks, no slash, set after S2.
1. The Beginning of a Reign

Set after Season 2

A little story

(mostly revolves around Callen & Sam friendship)

Please R&R :)

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><p>As soon as the team was dispatched under the orders of their new boss, G. Callen glances back at the house behind him. Something was not right; something was missing. And he's willing to bet his house that this <em>"something" <em>is a vital key to what his NCIS crew is facing right now. But what, what is it that could be so important that he's willing to lay his only home on the line? He doesn't know it yet either, and he's going to find out.

_-6 days ago-_

"Deeks! What are you doing?"

It had been a peaceful Tuesday morning when the screech of a gorgeous brunette echoes through the headquarters of NCIS Los Angeles. The same morning, her eyes burned when she saw her partner turning around wearing _her _bandage dress tightly curving his body in the fitting area.

Flustered and embarrassed, the LAPD liaison stammered, "It's not what you think!"

At the suspicious behavior, his partner looked him up and down in scrutiny, nods uncertainly and commented, "What is that, Herve Leger? Huh, good choice… shows off your curves."

Marty Deeks just went agape and started to protest in defense.

Nodding once more, she finally gave up on the lost cause. Clearly, there was an explanation to his rummaging and stealing one of her favorite undercover dress, but she decided against the questioning and had a better idea. Taunting him and making him go through another embarrassing day in Tinsel Town was a much more pleasant plan. And so with an inside grin, Kensi walks back to her desk and shouts, "Just don't forget to dry clean it! Oh, and I'd go with the black and white one if I were you!"

"Princess!" he whined.

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><p>As usual, outside the base, two men stood outside of the base, doing their regular everyday routine. Both opened the door to a sleek black car and exited it. They got into an unusual yet comfortable silence as they fall in step and walked to the headquarters. Deciding to break it, the shorter of the two clears his throat, gaining the attention of his well-trained partner. And again, as usual, he didn't know what to say. At times like this, everyone knows what Callen does best; look at his partner in the eye, as if transmitting a secret message only they would know, or talk about nothing in particular. And he chose the latter.<p>

"Do you know what is worse than dying?"

"What?" asked agent Sam Hanna, not knowing where this conversation was going. His partner just sent him a cheeky grin, one he knows well.

"Having a doctor examine your special sausage after it mysteriously got painful from too much stretching," said Callen. Sam let out a hearty laugh at the random and oh-so-Callen attempt at making this a 'great' morning. Callen just smirked at his success on making his partner laugh. The fact that there was no strain in this conversation made him almost forget about the crazy past few weeks they whole team has gone through. Almost.

"And _how_ do you get that?"

"Well, we certainly don't wrap it in shoelaces and Christmas ribbons if that's what you're thinking," replied Callen.

Sam laughed inwardly and waited for his partner to continue, "And _that_ is why we have spiders!"

"I didn't know spiders can hurt you in _that_ way, G," said the burly man.

"Oh, then you don't know that the same spider will cause at least four hours of the sausagestanding up?" asked Callen raising his one eyebrow.

Agent Hanna had another good laugh, thinking of what triggered this strings of thought into his partner's head and asked, "Not really my area of expertise, G!"

"Well, my friend, you should really look it up. Who knows what's lurking in your backyard, it will be sad if you wake up one morning to find yourself not being able to go to the bathroom. On that day, you'll regret 'using' it too much," laughed Callen and soon his friend joined him.

"You know who needs some of _that _regretting?" asked Sam. The two made eye contact as they finally reached their desks and both murmured, "Deeks."

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><p>Agent Lauren walked into the shooting range. She didn't feel the need to watch her agents goof off and have fun. She really didn't need all this crap today.<p>

It's bad enough she didn't feel welcomed, but the sound of complaints and silent whispers from the building just wouldn't stop. Hetty wasn't coming back, or maybe she was. But at least she wasn't coming back today, so like it or not, they're going to have to deal with her until Hetty comes back.

The woman dressed in all black lifted her gun up. She pointed it at the head of the target and shot. Shooting was a stress relief for her and a lot of the other agents. So, she shoots again and again, until the target is marred by bullets. But instead of seeing the faceless opponent printed on the fabric, she sees a man. The only man she's ever loathed.

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><p>When both men finally put their things on their desks, Callen couldn't help but think back over what has happened in the last few weeks. Their ex-operations manager, Henrietta Lange (a.k.a. Hetty) saying her goodbyes to them discreetly, finding out she's been replaced by a Lauren Hunter the next day, and finding out she's basically on a suicide mission that involves a family who's after everyone of the same bloodline as the clueless agent.<p>

He couldn't help replaying what Hetty said to him that day, that being leader is hard. If anyone knows at all what having that role feels like, it would be the woman herself and Callen in his little team.

No one knows, but Callen is actually on edge. He has to keep his cool for the sake of everyone, while in truth, all he wants to do is catch a flight to Romania, where Hetty will be, and find out the truth about his past. This is getting really tiring and frustrating, having to abide the rules and restrain himself from unraveling the truth. He's always one step closer to figuring out the mystery he wanted to solve so bad, when something just always get in the way. Maybe it was fate that he'd never figure out the truth. It was the one thing he desires in life, yet he just can't seem to get it.

"G?" stepping out of his stupor, he looked back at the only person who'd call him by that name… scratch that – by that letter. His partner and long time friend sat across of Kensi's desk, brows furrowed and eyes watching him like a hawk. The former realized he was still standing in front of his desk when flashbacks of the memories he recalled came back crashing down to him like back in Prague, on the beach. Callen said nothing to his partner and pursed his lips into a thin line as he proceeded to sit on his swiveling chair. He knew that look on Sam's face and hated it. It was the look of a mother bear that would protect her little ones from any form of harm. He loathed looking weak. It was like after his shooting all over again.

It was then, when the air was intense, that they noticed Kensi and her blond partner trudging in the area with energy.

"I told you, it's not what you think!"

"Whatever you say, Deeks."

"Kensi, I'm not lying! Do you really think I'd stoop that low?"

"Well, given the circumstances we are in, _partner_, I don't know what to think anymore!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down here!" finally, Sam decided to step in and stop this heated argument from getting even more heated. "You two are starting to sound like an old married couple!"

"Compared to the two of you, we're still newbies," retorted the brunette woman who got three snickers as a response.

"Hey! We've had our years of practice," answered Callen with a shrug.

"Yeah? Well then, you might want to put those years of practice into good use," came an unexpected answer from above. The four teammates looked up to find Eric leaning over the rail. "Ops room in five," he continued.

"Why not now?" asked Deeks, curious as well as the others.

"Well, considering that there's a new 'reign' here…" Beale didn't need to continue as the others nod in understanding, part of them too overwhelmed with their whole situation, and part just didn't want to make it a bigger deal if Director Vance or Agent Lauren overheard. "Yes, well… in five!" he reminded before going back to the dark room full of dark secrets.

Everyone was going back to prepare themselves for the upcoming heated discussion, when a voice piped up from above, "Oh, and Deeks? Nice dress!"

"Argh!"


	2. Pleasure's All Mine

**Here you go, the second chapter :) **

**Enjoy! (I updated sooner than I thought I would)**

**P.S. ****Thank you for all of you who listed this in your alert thingy (?) and reviewed it! Xx Bella**

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><p>Chapter 2:<p>

Pleasure's all mine

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><p>There really was no mistaking it. Things have changed around the LA headquarters and they all didn't know whether they liked it or not. Obviously, Deeks still remains clueless as to how much things really did shifted, as he is new to the team. But that didn't mean he didn't notice how much tenser the air grew. The man knew Hetty, his sneaky savior, the one person he knew he could count on. He along with the rest of Agent Callen's team members adored the woman.<p>

Cliché as it is, they _were _like a family… with Kensi, the hot, deadly tomboy of a daughter who's terrified of hair, Sam as the worrywart mother who just so happens to smell like baby powder, and Nate, the silent neighbor who always watch your every move from the corner of the room… creepy. Then, there was the geeky tech kid who lives next door, too wrapped up fixing his gadgets to look at the mirror and see the technical errors _there, _Eric. And after him comes Nell, the female version of the neighbor who could easily be mistaken as his twin, although more sensible in style.

Of course, in every family, there's always the mysterious guy whose shield is always up, a chameleon whose background is unknown even to him yet always seem to connect to most of the cases they handle. You guessed it. And there is the oh-so-amazing Hetty, the overly-hyper-for-her-age granny, who is more overprotective and greater than she is tall.

And Deeks just _know _that after today, everyone would view him as the troubled son who just happens to question his sexuality _and_ is cross dresser. Great, just great!

But really, they are a family. And families always stick together and help each other in times of needs. No one can replace the members of a family; Lauren Hunter can never replace Hetty just like he can't replace Nate. Marty Deeks is no Operational Psychologist, so he can only imagine how Agent Hunter is feeling. In some ways, Hunter reminds him of Callen. No one knows anything about them and in Callen's case, not even him. The current Op manager also speaks fluent other languages and is showing signs of stubbornness, just like Agent Callen. And correct the blonde if he's wrong, but there's something in the way her eyes look that reminds Deeks of Callen's. Yes, maybe Deeks is just stressed and over thinking it, but who knows? Maybe he is proving to be more observant these days.

"So what have we got?" asked Agent Callen as he and his coworkers walked inside the Ops room.

Instead of hearing Eric or Nell's, he heard someone else's response.

"Nothing, if you don't do anything about it," came a female voice with a British accent from the door. All eyes in the room snapped towards the mystery lady.

There, leaning on the doorframe with arms crossed, was a young redhead who looked no more than 25. She was dressed in casual clothes; just a simple white tunic, black leather pants and heels. But on her, it looked stunning.

"Miss, this is a special undercover unit. Unless you are authorized to be here, please step away from the room and we won't have any problems," said the head agent. At the cold order, the young woman just laughed. She was about to open her mouth, when another voice came from behind her.

"I surely hope that's not how you treat every guests, Agent Callen," Agent Hunter scolded as she moves past the figure leaning against the frame.

"Oh, come now Laurie, give the boy a break. He had the decency to say please," snorted the 'guest' whilst joining her friend as the door was closed.

By now, the two women had everyone's attention, not that they didn't previously. Confusion and suspicion were clear in every one of her agents' eyes. She could almost see the question mark floating in their orbs. It was amusing, to say the least.

"Who's the girl?"

"Be patient, Agent Blye," the mystery woman grinned, "I prefer my introductions to be more dramatic."

"She's an NCIS special undercover agent from the Washington headquarters," Hunter stopped to look at Callen, "She was sent by Agent Leroy Gibbs."

_That's odd_, the man thought. He was sure he knew every single one of Gibbs' colleagues, or at least the close ones who he trusted and would willingly lend to Callen. And he's never seen this girl.

For a while, the room was silent. Looks were exchanged, questions were bobbing in their heads, some watched the newcomer like a hawk, and others glared at Agent Hunter with distrust as she glared back. Finally, someone broke the silence.

"Well, thanks for remembering my name!" exclaimed the redhead sarcastically. She turned to the others in the room, stepped forward, and offered a smile, "Why, hello there! The name's Arden, Arden Rose."

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><p>"Gibbs."<p>

"It's Callen," said the man on the other end of the phone.

The sun was shining bright back in Washington D.C. Agent Leroy Gibbs was reading a case file at his desk when his phone rang. When he found out who was calling, he immediately sat up. It wasn't usual that Callen would call during an odd hour of the day, when both were working. They talk, yes, but mostly during the evening or late at night, when both are dismissed from their works. The fact that his younger friend called early means something had to be up.

"What do you need?" he asked.

Callen jumped in, "Confirmation. Did you send an agent to the LA headquarters?" The older man could here the urgency in his voice… and the confusion. Well, guess what? Gibbs was confused too.

"She claimed her name's Arden. Arden Rose."

The older agent was still confused, but he didn't let it show. He wanted to know who claimed to be sent to the NCIS headquarters under his supervision and got through. This mystery woman's got to be good. Maybe he knew her.

He didn't want to worry his friend, so he decided to play along, "Arden Rose, that's an alias, Callen. Just to be sure, what does she look like?"

"She's around 5'7" tall, looks no older than 25, has really fair skin, long, red hair, and sparkling blue eyes," he heard the suspicion in his friend's voice.

"You're not developing a crush, are you?" teased Leroy.

"No, her eyes really _do _sparkle! Oh, and she's British."

Now, Gibbs would be willing to tease his friend all day long, but there were more important things at hands. If there were any young redhead British woman whose eyes literally sparkle and is 5'7" tall, it would be "her."

The older man's shock and hesitation came to notice by his fellow coworkers, Tony and Ziva. He signaled the two of them over his desk and when they reached it, Gibbs turned the phone to loudspeaker and spoke again.

"Tell me something, Callen, does 'my agent' have some sort of mark on the back of her neck?" he asked. Immediately, both Tony and Ziva looked at their senior in disbelief. Gibbs knew what they were thinking; after all, they've been searching for her for all these years. And to finally find her is miraculous.

"Hold on," said Callen. The three other agents stayed still, close to the phone. There were some noises in the background on the other side of the phone. The sound of something that fell, followed by an apology and a 'here, let me help you.' Not long after that, Agent Callen seems to have gathered what was needed and replied, "Yeah. If you're talking about a crest being burned onto her skin, then yes, she has that."

"What does it say?"

"Alyfe. It's spelled like 'alive' but with 'Y' as the 'I' and 'F' instead of 'V'."

Both Tony and Ziva didn't need orders. They sprung into action and ran to their desks. The hilarious man grabbed a paper and wrote something down. Then, he sprinted towards the elevator as he texted urgently. Ziva, on the other hand, ran back to her desk. She took a seat and typed something on her computer while pressing down the buttons of her work phone. The dark haired beauty took a call and spoke fast, as fast as whatever she was typing on her keyboard.

"That's the one," Gibbs replied.

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><p>As soon as Eric and Nell briefed them about the case, Kensi and Deeks went to the crime scene, while Sam and his partner drove to the suspect's house. No one was in it, although there were explosives everywhere. And being the danger magnet that he is, the house exploded, leaving the two men minor injuries.<p>

When Agent Hunter heard of the explosion, she told them ambulance and backups were on their way. She forgot to mention their 'guest' was coming too, but that didn't matter, did it?

After being treated with their injuries, Sam had insisted to drive back to the headquarters because he hated his partner's slow driving. Oddly enough, Callen immediately agreed, and instead of heading towards the car, he turned left, stood under a tree, and called his friend over at Washington.

When Gibbs was asking about this new agent, Callen had suspected that something was off. And when he asked about the mark behind her neck, he thanked whoever was up there that the house exploded and caused them to be injured, however messed up that thought really was.

Callen shoved his phone to his partner through the open window and told him to stay in the car. He grabbed some of the remnants of the bombs and pretended to bump into Arden when both were carrying the evidences. The two of them fell, with the man on top of her, and her lying sideways. Her wavy locks cascaded down the pavement.

"Oh, I'm really sorry," he uttered. The girl smiled genuinely and said,

"No, no, it's fine."

The agent finally got a look at the back of her neck when she attempted to pick up the explosives when her hair fell to one side of her shoulder. He tried to figure out what it was, but couldn't make the mark out, so he squatted and looked closer.

"Here, let me help you," he offered, as he closed the gap between them and picked up her share of evidences. It was then that he could make out what was on the back of her neck, but only partially.

"Thanks, Agent Callen. And pleasure too meet you!" the girl chirped.

He smiled, "You're welcome, Agent Rose. Pleasure's all mine."

After the small talk, Callen went back to the car and took the passenger seat.

"Yeah," he said to the phone, "If you're talking about a crest being burned onto her skin, then yes, she has that."

"What does it say?" asked Agent Gibbs.

"Alyfe. It's spelled like 'alive' but with 'Y' as the 'I' and 'F' instead of 'V'," informed the agent.

"That's the one," he heard Gibbs say.

Callen got the confirmation he needed, but he felt like he needed more. There was something in Gibbs' tone that tells Callen there was more to her than that, whoever she was. Callen knew something was wrong. He didn't trust the girl, but then again, he doesn't trust a lot. The man could tell she's hiding something, just like Gibbs. Maybe it wasn't big, but he hated not knowing and feeling safe. Anyhow, he'll stay alert around her. Just in case.

"Ok, thanks. Stay alive."

"You too," said Gibbs. And the call went dead. That was their personal goodbyes. Why, you ask? Because in this field of work, who knows what could happen in a span of one hour?

Sam had just heard a weird one-sided conversation. His partner wasn't telling him anything, and it was nerve wrecking. His gut was telling him that Callen would go lone wolf on him again soon. He wasn't sure why, but you get these feelings that things might happen when you've grown with someone for so long.

He's been driving for a few minutes, and his partner was still silent, thinking too hard about what everyone was hiding. Sam wanted to break the awkward silence, so he did.

"G, we good?" he asked, as Callen's eyes snapped to his partner. The blue-eyed agent didn't realize until now that the car was moving, away from the now torn house.

"Yeah," he nodded, looking away, "yeah, we're good."

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><p>Who knew writing can be so addictive? Ooh, and should I name each chapters?<p>

Please review!

And who can guess where "Alyfe" came from? No, it's not a typo :9

x)


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